I got a Sega CD... when the Dreamcast came out. Friend of mine sold it to me with a Genesis (also the first I owned) for $30. It needs some work now, I think the track limiters are goofed, as the laser motor gears grind now when sliding on the rails. And the Genesis has developed audio crackling something fierce. Probably a capacitor issue, although I suppose it could be an issue with the chip itself.

Good thing I've got replacements.

My favorite game on the system? Easily Lunar: Eternal Blue. I like it better than the PSX remake. It's right there with Phantasy Star IV as one of the best games of that generation.

I know what they're trying to do... I'm just not sure someone's going to go out and buy one of these if they're already heavy into PC gaming. Seems like they may be missing the market. But who knows, maybe they'll take out Microsoft and Sony, and we'll be bowing to our new digital, non-ownership overlords.

EDIT: And please note, I don't hate Steam. I have lots of Steam games! But I'm under no illusions as to what it is.

Remember, even Gunstar Heroes didn't sell all that well. It's not obscure anymore, but it was back in the day, I suppose. Light Crusader definitely counts. I actually played through the entirety of Treasure's Genesis catalog for some articles not too long ago. McDonald's Treasure Land is pretty obscure, but it's not as good as its spiritual successor, Dynamite Headdy (seriously, I think they may be using the same engine), and by the same token, Yu Yu Hakusho is interesting as basically a proto-Guardian Heroes.

Which is kind of an issue in this instance. WA5 is a much better game in every aspect, but part of that aspect is an open world with a lot of searching for towns, treasures, and dungeons. WA4 is a straight line for all intents and purposes.

I know that SSF is good, but as mentioned, the sound is off (go listen to a Camelot game like Shining Force 3, there's a background instrument that's hideously off-key), and even newer versions have introduced new problems. Panzer Dragoon Saga used to be playable from start to finish, but later versions hang on the final boss spiel, after playing the entire rest of the game perfectly.

I'd always been under the impression that PSX emulation has gotten tons better, though. I've messed with pSX, which seems quite nice, even if there are no frills. PCSX is hit or miss for me, though, and I'm not sure about the latest version of ePSXe.

I think most of the earlier systems are quite well covered, though. bsnes/higan does a great job of resolving the quirks in a few games (like the bug in Speedy Gonzalez), stuff like Nestopia does a wonderful job with NES, Kega is pretty darn solid stuff for Genesis, and so forth. (Although I know there's something in the Genesis emulators that does not handle the AP measures in stuff like Pier Solar or Star Odyssey, and if I'm not mistaken, the authors have refused to account for whatever loophole they're using to detect the difference, for completely understandable reasons.)

I'd say it's pretty hard to get completely stuck in Chrono Trigger. Everything you need to beat the game is there, without guides.

Honestly, there are a lot of RPGs that fall into this category, though. You might miss out on some optional, super-secret stuff, but the main quest lines aren't too hard to keep track of. Unless you're playing a game like Valkyrie Profile (although the best ending could be considered optional, I suppose) or Wild Arms 3 (which does a terrible job of communicating where you need to go).

I enjoyed FFXIII, but yeah, it's crazy linear. That's why I constantly refer to it as a corridor RPG/RTS. Because that's what it is.

I see this as being targeted at parents of kids aged under 7, who are liable to break the hinge on a flip-open device and shouldn't be using the 3D anyway.

Yep, I hear their eyeballs will explode or something if they use a 3DS.

It's clearly for the younger market. Definitely not for us college-and-older crowd. It even looks like something I'd give a young kid, as opposed to a traditional handheld. The reduced cost doesn't hurt, either.

I just find it depressing that the series has been left to languish. Easily one of the best games on the SNES. Thanks for the link! (I know another guy that used to be around here that would probably be interested in this as well, might have to send it his way.)

Actually, I'm pretty sure original XBOX controllers are USB, just bigger connectors. Adapting things could be... tricky, because you've got to do some USB packet management and whatnot. You'll probably have to use some sort of FPGA / microcontroller to handle the USB and convert to the proper Saturn signals, or vice-versa.

You can definitely see the PC influence overseas when reading publications like Retro Gamer. Stuff on there I'd never even heard of. The NES definitely had a stranglehold on the market, although the C64 was pretty rockin', too. But almost all my fond gaming memories from that time were on the NES.

I'm not a big fan of anime eyes. I can take 'em, but the ginormous sparkly cutesy type just... well, again, I'll tolerate it, but it's not something I'm going to use in my own artwork, that's for sure. But then, I was mostly raised on American comics, and in particular, I had a lot of Jim Lee's X-Men stuff.

But yes, it's more important that the artist have at least some competence, and the eyes are usually the least of concerns. (And I'm not saying I have that much competence... I know I've got a long way to go, and even the crappiest manga artist will probably best my own work.)